John Franks

Hi, I’m John Franks. I play the harmonica. I grew up in a Southern musical family. My uncle was Tillman Franks, a well-known Rock-a-Billy manager/promoter/song-writer for people like Hank Williams, Sr., Elvis Presley, Johnny Horton, Claude King, David Houston and so on.I am the 3rd born in a family of 6 kids. My mom and dad were Mary Lou and Edward Ray Franks. Dad was a lifer in the Marines and I was born in Quantico, Virginia on a military base.I am a self-taught musician. I have been playing in a Rockabilly blues band called Red Eye Express for 6 years (we practice weekly). I also play with several other musicians in the Bay Area including Ted Sanchez and Friends, the Bog Creek Band with Donnie and Jeanine Croft (Country) and whoever else wants me to sit in with them. I love to play music, and my wife, Kathi, encourages me. How many guys can be so lucky?I have a 32-year-old son and a 21-year-old daughter, Jason and Kristin. My wife is my childhood sweetheart. Although we both moved around the country every 2 years as kids, we ended up in Arkansas, where we married in 1975 and lived for 7 years. In 1982 we moved to California (Kathi’s home). Thus, my nicknames are "Ark" and/or "Arkansas", or "Hillbilly. I really don’t care what they call me, just don’t call me late for dinner. THE END